Nail-placer.



No'. 785,136. PATENTED MAR. 21,1905. W. H. WARRA'M & J. W-.-URIE.', v

' NAIL PLACER. APPLICATION FILED BERT. 7. 1904.

UNITED STATES Patented March 21,1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. WVARRAM, OFKENT COUNTY, AND JAMES W. URIE, OF

I BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

NAIL-PLACER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 785,136, dated March 21,1905.

Application filed September 7, 1904:. $eria1No.'223,641.

To (all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, WILLIAM H. WARRAM, a resident of Kent county,and JAMES W. URIE, a resident of Baltimore, State of Maryland, citizens of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nail- Placers, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an improvement in nail-placers designed for attachment to any of the common forms of hammer, hatchet, or other driving implement now on the market.

It often happens that carpenters and others find it necessary to drive a nail in such a position that the operator cannot use both handsthat is to say, he cannot hold the nail with one hand and use the hammer with the other hand. Consequently itis common practice to hold the hammer-head in the palm of the hand and the nail between the first and second fingers at a point midway between the first and second joints thereof, the head of the nail resting against the hammer, and thus start the nail; but this practice often causes serious wounds and abrasions unless the operator is very careful. Our invention avoids this and other disadvantages by providing-a means carried by the driving implement itself for releasably retaining the nail while the driving implement is being wielded to start or stick the nail, after which the implement and its attachment are disengaged from the nail and the implement wielded -in the usual manner to drive the nail home.

A further object of our invention is to provide a simple, neat, and inexpensive device of the kind set forth which may be attached to any form of hammer or other driving implement now on the market without the necessity of providing a special form of hammer-head, as has previously been the case.

Our invention also consists in certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts, such as will be more fully described hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claim.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of our invention applied to a hatchet. Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective of the attachment, and Fig. 3 is a top plan view of Fig. 1.

A indicates the head of the driving implement, which in the present instance is a hatchet, and B is the usual helve'or handle to which the head is secured, the latter being provided with the customary projecting face 1. The helve or handle passes through the eye of the head and at its upper end may be flush with the head in the usual manner. To this end of the helve is secured a combined stop and retaining block or abutment 2, which in the present instance is in the form of a right triangle, the base of which rests upon the end of the handle and projects therebeyond to overlie the surrounding portion of the head A of the driving-tool, thereby preventing the head from flying off of the bandle. The squared end of the stop-block lies nearest the face 1 of the head, and this end is provided with a recess or indentation 3, forming a seat for the reception of the nail-head. Superimposed upon the outer surface of the block is a retaining resilient member 4, the rear end of which conforms to the slope of the surface of the block, which latter gradually decreases until the edge of the head is reached, thereby saving expense in material and avoiding the formation of a projection at that end which would interfere with the proper operation of the device. Nails, screws, or other suitable fasteningdevices 5 5 pass through the rear end of the spring member and through the block 2 into the end of the handle B to retain the attachment in position as well as to spread the handle to cause it .to frictionally engage the eye to prevent the accidental separation of the head and handle. The free end of the spring member is slightly curved trans abutment and being engaged and frictionalljv I held in position by the spring. The operator then grasps the handle B and swings the implement to the point where it is desired to drive the nail. A smart blow will stick the nail firmly in position, whereupon the drivinghead is disengaged from the nail and the tool used in the obvious manner to drive the nail home.

Our device does not require a special form of head, nor is it desirable that a particular form of head be especially made, as heretofore; but, on the contrary, the invention can be applied to any of the usual or common forms of driving-tools now on the market with no change thereof, and, furthermore, the device is adapted to be used with any style of fastening means from tacks to twenty-penny nails. A further advantage resides in the fact that the attachment does not project beyond the sides or the vertical planes of the sides of the head, thus permitting its use in connection with hatchets, axes, or other cutting means, since the placer will not interfere with the passage of the tool through a log of wood,forinstance, and, further,when attached to a claw-hammer the additional height afforded by the device gives an increased and highly-advantageous leverage, since it pro vides a fulcrum upon which to rock the tool 3 in withdrawing nails, tacks, and the like.

It will be evident that our invention is susceptible of many changes and alterations from the form and arrangement herein described without departing from the spirit and scope 35 thereof, and hence we do not wish to limit ourselves to the exact construction herein set forth; but,

Having thus fully disclosed our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by 14 Letters Patent, is

The combination, with a driving implement and a handle therefor, of a nail-placer comprising an abutment and a retaining member superimposed thereupon, the abutment located upon the outer end of the handle and extending over and lying upon the driving implement to prevent the latter from starting from the handle, and fastening means passing through the retainer and abutment and into the handle.

In testimony whereof We have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM H. WARRAM. JAMES W. URIE.

Witnesses:

JAs. M. SUTTON, A. L. HARRIS. 

